The Alabama Crimson Tide are back-to-back SEC Champions.
And Nick Saban, once again, shows why he is the king of college football.
Alabama defeated Georgia 41-24 in Atlanta to claim their 10th conference championship since the SEC started having a championship game in 1992. In that amount of time Alabama has the most wins of any other team in the conference.
This game was important for Alabama, and the Tide knew it.
As Lee Corso said on College Gameday this morning, “Alabama is desperate for this win.”
He was right, and it was the driving motivation behind Alabama’s dominance in this game.
Georgia went up 10-0 in the first quarter before Tide quarterback Bryce Young found a new gear that he hasn’t seen all year. Alabama then managed to score 17 unanswered points on Georgia’s defense which was the top-ranked defense in the nation.
After that, it was no looking back for Bama. In our SEC championship preview, we discussed the importance that the offensive line would have on this game for the Tide.
They stepped up big-time, having arguably their best game of the season.
Saban praised his offensive line saying, “They did a really good job of blocking their pressure and giving Bryce room to operate.”
Alabama’s last three SEC games were decided by one possession or less which led people to believe that the Tide would get stomped by the number one-ranked Georgia Bulldogs.
However, the Tide were determined to get to the College Football Playoff, and Saban wanted to make sure he kept his streak against Kirby Smart.
After the game, Saban was interviewed before the trophy presentation.
On his team, and how they came out and played the way they did, he said, “Everybody wanted to gain a little respect, and I think that we did.”
Saban is correct about the respect that they were given all week.
After a four-overtime Iron Bowl against Auburn the week before, people assumed it was Georgia’s game. Yet, like Saban said, they earned a little respect now.
Speaking of respect, Young may have locked down the Heisman Trophy. He put up video game numbers by throwing for 429 yards and three touchdowns in a conference championship game.
That is what’s called a ‘Heisman Moment’ if there ever was one. He played an incredible game and kept his composure even down 10 points.
On this team’s win tonight, Saban said, “This team has probably had to overcome more adversity and this team has had to endure and have more resilience from a competitive standpoint than any team we have ever had.”
He continued by saying, “I’m really proud of them for that.”
The Crimson Tide will now definitely make the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row with a chance to win back to back national titles as well.
For now, Alabama will enjoy this win and prepare for the long road ahead.
Alabama and Georgia will most likely have the opportunity to meet again in the playoffs. Yet, Alabama can just wait and watch for who they will be pitted against in round one of the playoffs.
The College Football Playoff Selection Show will air tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. CST for the final time of the season and will show Alabama fans and players who the Tide will play in round one of the playoffs.
Hayden Crigler is a contributing college football and college basketball writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him through email: Hayden@yellowhammernews.com or on Twitter: @hayden_crigler.
